Personnel Licensure

By definition, to license is to authorize by a legal permit or to give formal permission from a constituted authority. Licensure is a governmental activity taken on behalf of the public to protect that public from potential harm. Licensure of personnel is often contrasted with certification, which is a private sector activity. A major difference involves the consequences of engaging in practice without each credential. If a license is required to practice a profession in a state, it is unlawful to engage in the work without one and the consequences of doing so are very serious. Not being certified may make it more difficult to get a job, but it is not unlawful to work without it.

There are currently 11 states with laboratory personnel licensure (California, Hawaii, Florida, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Louisiana, Nevada, West Virginia, Montana, Georgia). Puerto Rico also has licensure. The components of the law vary state-to-state, but usually includes an annual licensing fee (some are bi-annual), a provision for continuing education, a minimum education and professional competency requirements.

If a Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) or Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) plans to locate in a state with licensure, that state should be contacted for specific information relative to that state's laboratory practice act. This contact should be made as early as possible after the location decision has been made. Most states (except California) require documentation of certification from an acceptable certification agency. Other things to expect are fingerprinting (Louisiana, possibly other states), documentation of certification, and documentation of education, training, and competency. Some states require documentation of a defined number of contact hours prior to issuing a license. California does not recognize any certification or any other state license. Check with other states regarding reciprocity; most give reciprocity for another state license as stringent or more stringent than that state.

Check with the state regarding trainee licenses or other requirements for new graduates without a valid license in that state.

The following is a list of the states with laboratory personnel licensure and contact information:

Must pass state examination; recognizes some national certification exams. However Certification does not equal licensure in California. In addition to passing the approved certification exam and the online quiz regarding California state law, the applicant must meet California education and training standards in order to be eligible for a California state license. The educational and training standards are described in the following link in sections1261 and 1263. http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/lfs/Pages/ClinicalLaboratoryPersonnel.aspx

CLT, initial License fee ($125) plus ($120) registration fee Licensure fee and 1stregistration fee due at the same time. License issued for life—licensure fee paid only once and registration fee paid every 3 years.